I Wonder

”There are times I wonder, why can’t I wear white after Labor Day?” That Twizzler ad asks a very pertinent question😉. Who made these ’rules’ and why do we feel obligated to subject ourselves to them. That’s just one of the many rules the fashion police academy has laid out for us. Of course, that’s not a big deal in light of the other important issues facing us daily. However, as I struggled today to rest…to do nothing, I started to ask myself other questions. Why can’t I just rest…do nothing? Do nothing and feel okay- not feel like I’m ’wasting time’. Who made those unwritten rules? Those rules that I unknowingly became a slave to. When did I start believing them? Why do I feel the need to always ‘be doing something’. I tried so hard to do nothing – it didn’t fully work. So, I ended up writing this blog.😁

There was a time when I could sleep anywhere and anytime. My mom used to say they could move the house with me I would never know when I’m asleep. As a teenager, I had no problem doing nothing. Actually, I mastered that art of relaxation. I never went to summer school nor attended anything academic during holidays [ and I was an excellent student😘]. I never had a job until I graduated from college at 20 years of age. I am told that these things were meant to teach me a sense of responsibility. Keep me busy – doing something. I have no problem with that school of thought. While some may have needed that – I didn’t. I grew up to be quite the responsible adult. Might I add – I totally enjoyed every bit of my years as a youth😎. There are many ways to develop a sense of responsibility – ‘work’ is not the only way.

So now here I am. An adult who now has to unlearn a lot lies that I bought into while working so hard to stay in the rat race. Even God rested – I should too. Why do I feel the need to multitask all the time? Watch TV, pay the bills and shred papers. Eat, read and catch up on emails. Do the laundry, cook, and clean up the living room all at the same time. What about those magazines in bathroom/toilet? Some of us even take our phones to the bathroom with us. With the advent of blue-tooth, we no longer see the beauty around us when we drive. We arrive at work or reach home fuming. Upset because of that phone call we had while driving. Why? I’ve had to ask myself those questions. I glory in my ability to do a hundred things at once. Woe be unto those who cannot or don’t!!

I am all for having great time management skills. I am all for ‘doing’ and maximizing the moments, grabbing hold of the opportunities! However, I miss the mark when I forget how to rest. That kind of rest that invites me not to ‘do’ but just to ‘be’. No one should feel guilty for taking a day or couple of hours to do NOTHING. I pray we will be freed from that mindset that holds us captive – creating a generation of worn out, stressed out, guilt-ridden overworked people. I dare to believe that when our days start to draw to an end and we start to reflect- none of us will regret not ‘working harder’. Our regrets will have nothing to do with’ work’. So, have you mastered that balance yet? When was the last time you guilted yourself out of ‘resting’?

It’s okay to rest:

 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, He said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” [ Jesus speaking: Mark 6:31]

 In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat— for He grants sleep [rest] to those He loves. [Psalm 127:2]

I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me. [Psalm 3:5]